--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide
distribution. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020/21 campaign extends for a total of 189 days
Company Information/Agriculture/Processing industry
Vienna - At the end of February, AGRANA successfully ended its processing of the
2020/2021 potato harvest at its potato starch mill in Gmünd (Lower Austria).
With a processing period of 189 days, this was AGRANA's longest ever campaign in
Austria.
From 20.8.2020 to 25.2.2021, a record quantity of 322,000 metric tons of starch
potatoes were processed at the Gmünd site, which is not only a considerable
increase compared to the prior year (276,000 metric tons), but also a third more
than the average of the last five years. The average starch content amounted to
17.8% (prior year: 18.3%).
The wet weather during the harvest made conditions challenging for farmers while
digging up the potatoes and also had impacts on the delivery of the raw
materials to the Gmünd factory and during production. As a result of the long
wet period, the raw materials between October and January were constantly
delivered with a high proportion of wet soil, which entailed more work while
washing and scrubbing the potatoes clean. "Despite the particularly high
quantities of potatoes, which represented new challenges for the starch campaign
in terms of storage, logistics and technology in 2020/21, it was possible to
successfully overcome these in the course of this year's potato processing
campaign," stresses AGRANA CEO Johann Marihart.
Production at full capacity - despite corona
At Gmünd, Austria's only potato starch factory, AGRANA manufactures not only
food-grade starches but also starches for technical applications such as those
in the paper, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. The facility also
processes organic potatoes to make organic starches, organic sweeteners and
organic long-life potato products such as purées, potato dough mixes and baby
food. In total, AGRANA manufactures over 300 different starch products at its
mill in Gmünd.
Production levels have remained high from Day 1 even during the corona pandemic.
Demand has increased, particularly for packaged potato purée and dough.
About AGRANA
AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and numerous
industrial intermediate products. About 9,400 employees at 56 production
facilities worldwide generate annual Group revenue of around EUR 2.5 billion.
The Group was founded in 1988, is the global leader in fruit preparations and
also a major producer of fruit juice concentrates in Europe as well as being a
key manufacturer of customised potato, corn and wheat starch products as well as
organic ethanol in its Starch segment. AGRANA is one of the leading sugar
companies in Central and Eastern Europe.
This press release is available in German and English at www.agrana.com [http://
www.agrana.com/].
Further inquiry note:
AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
Mag.(FH) Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12905
e-mail:hannes.haider@agrana.com
Mag.(FH) Markus Simak
Public Relations
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12084
e-mail: markus.simak@agrana.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pictures with Announcement:
----------------------------------------------
http://resources.euroadhoc.com/images/2118/5/10671617/1agrana_gmuend_l.jpg